The role of neuroticism and subjective social status in the relationship between perceived social support and life satisfaction

Abstract The present study examined the relationship between perceived social support (PSS) and life satisfaction by testing a moderated mediation model that focused on how neuroticism mediates the relationship between perceived social support and life satisfaction and how subjective social status (SSS) moderates this mediated relationship. A total of 1161 female and 765 male Chinese participants aged 18–80 years volunteered to complete questionnaires comprising a demographic details form, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet et al., 1988), the Chinese version of the Big Five Inventory Personality Scale (Carciofo et al., 2016), the MacArthur Scale (Adler et al., 2000), and a Chinese version of the domain-specific life satisfaction scale (Hu et al., 2017). Regression analysis revealed that perceived social support positively influences life satisfaction through neuroticism. In addition, a moderated regression analysis indicated that low subjective social status strengthens not only the effect of neuroticism on life satisfaction but also the indirect effect of perceived social support on life satisfaction. Our findings contribute to understanding the relationship between perceived social support and life satisfaction, and provide empirical evidence for the combined effects of personality factors and subjective social factors on life satisfaction.